Manchester Airport boss warns queues could continue for weeks

People will be willing to put up with queues in the next few weeks so they can go on holiday, the deputy chief executive of Manchester Airport says.

Travellers have recently faced long waits for check-in and security, with the airport blaming staff shortages.

Ken O'Toole told the BBC the chaotic scenes at the airport last weekend were an "isolated incident".

But he warned some people may still face waits of up to 90 minutes over the next month or so.

It comes as travel organisation Abta said that travel bookings for this year are approaching pre-pandemic levels. Jet2, the second biggest holiday operator in the UK, is operating more flights this Easter than in 2019, for example.

Mr O'Toole said the speed of the recovery for the travel sector since Covid restrictions eased had taken the airport by surprise, leaving it short-staffed.

He said 220 new staff had been recruited, who were currently being trained and would start work over the coming weeks.

In the meantime, he urged travellers to be prepared for longer waits and to arrive three hours in advance to ensure they do not miss their flights around the Easter holidays.

"We want to protect the full flying schedule. We want to make sure that after two years of people not getting away, those trips that they have booked, they can take them," he said.

"That unfortunately does mean on occasion there will be queues which are not acceptable, they're not what we're aiming for.

"But the compromise between having that situation or cancelling lots of flights for people - which other airports have done in recent weeks - we believe people would prefer to accept a queue and make sure they get away."

"As we emerge from the worst of the pandemic and consumers take advantage of the freedom to travel, instances of late notice cancellations and excessive delays at airports are not just distressing for affected consumers but have the potential to impact confidence levels across the industry", Richard Moriarty, the chief executive of the Civil Aviation Authority, wrote on Thursday.

He called on airlines and airports to work together to ensure disruption is "kept to a minimum".

Mr Moriarty also stressed that airlines should offer passengers a choice of a refund or alternative travel arrangements with their carrier or another airline when plans are disrupted.

Ferry passengers have also seen disruption, with the no-notice sackings of hundreds of P&O Ferries staff placing pressure on other operators while demand for travel has picked up.

Mr O'Toole acknowledged the next four to six weeks would still be a "difficult period" for Manchester Airport, with some passengers facing queues of 60 to 90 minutes.

But he said the majority would only wait for 30 to 40 minutes, compared to a target of 15 minutes in normal times, while some people would get through quicker.

Asked why other airports had not faced such severe disruption, Mr O'Toole suggested there were issues "across the sector" but Manchester had been hit by problems earlier because it was recovering more quickly than its competitors.

Travel organisation Abta said its members are reporting holiday bookings returning to pre-pandemic levels.

An Abta spokesperson said: "Easter is usually a busy time of year for travel and we expect that to be the case again this year, particularly as this is the first bank holiday where you don't need to do anything in terms of Covid-19 requirements when returning to the UK."

The Airport Operators Association boss Karen Dee also said she was pleased to see passengers returning in great numbers.

"This late surge in bookings was partly driven by government removing the final remaining travel restrictions as recently as 18 March," she suggested.

She added that staff shortages and the fact that many passengers are still having to present Covid-related documents at check-in are increasing the time taken to move through airports.

"Airports are putting all available staff on the front line," she said.

"This means that for most passengers, although the journey through the airport may be busy, airports are getting them away on their holidays safely."